Rider grad dies overseas

Lt. Omar Vazquez, a 2007 Rider graduate, was killed by an improvised explosive device while on duty in Iraq on Friday, April 24. Vazquez received his undergraduate degree in history from Rider before attending graduate school at Rutgers-Camden and then enlisting in the U.S. Army.

According to one of the Rider graduate’s former history professors, Dr. Joseph Gowaskie, Vazquez was dedicated and passionate about everything he did. “Omar was a very special young man,” he said. “He never did anything at half-speed, whether it was with his family, his studies or his desire to serve his nation. I miss him already.”

Vazquez will be buried in the veterans’ section of Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton. A date for the funeral is pending.